About Beth
I wanted to be a writer when I was five years old. So I went to school and studied math and science. Then I attended the University of Toronto for a Specialist Degree in English. At Victoria College, the great Northrop Frye inspired us with words of wisdom in the hallways. Finally I set off to the University of Western Ontario for a Masters Degree in Journalism. I did this so I could write something more interesting than a complex academic essay.
I puttered around at the Ontario College of Art and Design because I liked advertising and editorial design. Then I went to work and spent my time managing staff — mostly writers, publishers, artists, editors, marketing people and communication staff.
Twenty years after my first job, I decided to be a writer.
By then, of course, I already was a writer, albeit in “disguise”. I’d written articles, newspaper columns, plays, advertising copy, even a children’s book, published by Black Moss Press and Oxford Press (Great Britain) in 1995.
Words & Solutions was created in 1999. Over the past 18 years I have worked with over 100 businesses, marketing communications studios, publishers, boutique consulting firms, Fortune 500 companies, banks and arts organizations. I’ve also written more books, albeit as a “ghost writer”. I’ve edited manuscripts that are now bestsellers in Canada, and was recently commissioned to write a business history book, published under my name in the fall of 2014.
My clients like my work because I understand writing, marketing, communication and business. I know how difficult it is to find time to put the right words on the page. I am experienced at working with designers with impossible deadlines and specific word counts. I can position a complex IT business plan or create tight marketing copy for an ad campaign. And even with the heaviest of subjects, when appropriate, I can lighten the read with a good story or a quirky turn of phrase.
It is what I do, full time. Finally! Now I am a writer.
Beth Parker
B.A. English Specialist, University of Toronto (Victoria College)
M.A. Journalism, University of Western Ontario
Publishing Management, Simon Fraser University
Essentials of Management Consulting, Canadian Association of Management Consultants
Royal Conservatory of Music (Grade X)